Movable seat.



E. L. STEPHENS.

MOVABLE SEAT.

APPLICATION mzo AUG.13. 19|2.

Patented Sept. 19, 1916.

EDWARD L. STElI-IENS, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

MOVABLE SEAT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 19, 1916 I Application filed August 13, 1912. Serial No. 714,896.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD L. STEPHENS,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Movable Seat, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a movable seat particularly adapted for use in street cars or other places where it is desired to provide a seat which can be readily shifted from one position to another.

One object of the invention is to provide a seat which can be readily attached to and detached from a support so as to enable it to be used interchangeably with supports in different parts of the car.

Another object of the invention is to provide a seat with a support which is capable of retaining the seat at different heights, so that the seat may be adjusted to any desired height.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention, and referring thereto:

Figure 1 is a perspective of the seat support with a seat thereon, a portion of the seat being broken away. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the seat with its shank. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the seat supporting bracket, showing the same in position for adjustment. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the seat support in set or gripping position. Fig. 5 is a plan of the seat support showing the supporting stanchion or pipe in section. Fig. 6 is an inverted plan of the shank attaching means on the seat. Fig. 7 is a perspective of the gripping jaw for the seat support.

1 designates the seat which may be of the usual pattern for street car seats, and is provided with a shank 2 attached thereto, for example, by means of a fitting 3, secured on the bottom of the seat, the shank 2 having a screw threaded upward bend 2 screwing into the hub 3 of the fitting 3. The shank 2 is bent horizontally from this attaching portion and at its outer end is bent downwardly as shown at 1 to enter the socket of the supporting means.

The supporting means for the seat comprises a socket formed, for example, as a tubular member 5 on a plate 6 which 1s pivoted at 7 in a bracket 8, mounted to slide vertically on a stanchion or post 9, said bracket 8 having a tubular portion 8 slidably fitting on said stanchion. Means are 7 provided for retaining the supporting device in any desired vertical positlon on the stanchion, consisting, for example, of a grlp- 'ping jaw or face 10 on the plate 6, adapted plate 6 replaces the gripping face 10 against the stanchion so as to hold the seat support from downward movement. In order to facilitate the action of the gripping device and particularly the release thereof, when the seat is to be lifted, a pressure block 12 is carried by a pin 13, mounted to slide in a horizontal channel 14L in the block 6, a spring .15 being provided at the inner end of this channel for pressing said pin 13 and block 12 outwardly, so as to cause the block to engage with and press against the stanchion 9. Block 12 and plate 6 are provided with projections 18 and 19 which limit the movement of these parts.

The seat is used as follows: It being understood that in a street car there are stanchions similar to that shown at 9, provided at various places in the car, for example, at the end of each platform adjacent to the motormans seat, and in the pay-asyou-enter cars, at the center of the platform in position to be available for support of a conductors seat, any desired number of stanchions may be provided with the seat supporting means 8, having the pivoted socket plates 6, and the motorman or con (luctor as the case may be, will be provided with a seat 1 which he will shift to one or another of these supporting stanchions ac cording to the requirements as determined by the direction in which the car is running. In applying the seat to the seat support, it is only necessary to place the depending extension a of the shank 2 in the socket 5. If the seat is then too low, it may be raised by simply lifting up on the. member 6, thereby releasing the gripping jaw 10 from the stanchion, and allowing the device to be slid upwardly on the stanchion. When the seat is at the proper height, the member 6 is allowed to fall back and the weight of the seat immediately restores the gripping face 10 to proper position for gripping against the stanchion. In this operation, the elastieally supported pressureplate 12 aids in guiding the device in its upward movement and in bringing the gripping means quickly and smoothly into gripping position. The pressure plate 12 bears on the post above the pivotal center 7 for the socket member,

while the gripping face 10 bears on said post below said pivotal center 7, so that the pressure of spring 15 tends to hold both the pressure pla'te l2 and the gripping face 10 in contactwith the post. If the seat is too high, the member 6 is tipped upwardly to release the gripping jaw and the member 8 is slid downwardly on the stanchion, the member (3 being retained in releasing position until the seat is suiiioiently lowered. This adjusting operation can be most conveniently performed when the seat is moved out of the way, either by removing its shank 4i from its socket, or by turning it in the socket so as to swing it to one side, leaving the member 5 exposed as a convenient handle for the bracket. Moreover, on removal of the seat, the bracket is more readily ad j ustable on the post, as the Weight of the seat being removed, the gripping action is then substantially reduced to that produced by spring 15, and by holding the member 5 in position shown in Fig. 3, the operator may slide the bracket'up or down by the use of one hand. The efieet of removal of the weight of the seat may also be produced, substantially, by swinging the seat around to one side, so as to minimize its leverage on the bracket.

What I claim is:

The combination with a vertical support, of a bracket slidable upon the support and including spaced ears projecting outwardly at rignt angles from the support, a plate pivoted to and between the ears and adapted to abut the support at its inner end when in operative position, said plate having its upper edge recessed at its inner end, a pressure member mounted within the recess, spring means carried by the plate and normally holding the pressure member in engagement with the support, a depending lug on the pressure member, and a projection carried on the plate adapted to engage the depending lug to limit the movement of the pressure member in one direction.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles, California this 8th day of August, 1912.

EDWARD L. STEPHEWS. In presence of ARTHUR P. KNIGHT, MARY E. BLASDEL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

